User Reviews

Overall Rating:

Value Rating:

Submitted by
Greig
a Audio Enthusiast

Date Reviewed: December 27, 2000

Bottom Line:

You get what you pay for; cheap ear phones for portable use. Don't compare these with in-the-house headphones, they are never going to live up to those standards. But for portable electronic use they sound better than most standard earphones/buds. They are not the best portable phones I've used, but they are only $10; better phones cost more. Consider buying these if you are using no-name/brand ear buds/phones and if you don't want to spend much. They will be noticably better (more open sounding), and they are the best I've used at this price range. I use them with my portable radio and prefer the headband to buds for the convenience of taking them on and off. Also, they don't drown out all noise, I can hear the traffic, which is especially important if you are running. One problem I do find is that the cord is a little short and would be better if it where say 8" longer. Nevertheless, I'm on my second pair, the first died after dropping my radio one to many time and the wire eventually was pulled away from the plug. Bottom line, if you only have $10 to spend on a new set of headphones buy these.

What a piece of crap these headphones are! They have essentially no bass and scratchy, etchy, glassy (in an unpleasant way) treble. Also, the extremely thin headband feels as if it is going to break very soon.

If there ever is an example of headphones that make everything sound crappy, the MDR-W08L's are it! Please, do yourself a favor... Avoid these headphones at ALL costs!

I remember getting these back in 1996. At the time, I was one of those people who really cared about looks and amount of bass, and these seemed to deliver the goods. Unfortunately, I've grown and my tastes have matured. Having more experiences with high end audio gear, I can't rate these as high as I would have a few years ago.

The major letdown of these headphones is the bass. At first, I thought they had lots, but later on I realized that the bass wasn't deep at all. It has lots of mid bass that makes up most music, but it really lacks the deep, clean sound of more audiophile oriented headphones. Also, there is this hollowish resonance thing going on somewhere in the bass and lower midrange section, making the mostly male vocals a bit stuffy and artificially hollow. The upper midrange is nice though, never harsh and relatively smooth. The highs are a bit more laid back that I'd like though, they lack upper details and clarity.

These are very well designed in a style and ergonomic standpoint, but there are a few little details that bother me. First, I had the wires strip and eventually break where they enter the headphones because the hole has a sharp edge that it basically has to come in contact with. Also, because of it's relatively lightweight design, the band is thin and can be prone to breaking if you're uncareful. The joint where the "rod" that the headphones slide into for size adjustment is also a bit weak and gets easily stressed.

In it's defense though, I think these are really good with radios and the such since I find most FM stations to be shrill and tinny. These headphones will make the sound more full bodied and it's ok treble is offset by the emphasis by most radio stations. Also, though they are not deep, they have very good impact and are very quick, if a bit loose sounding at times. They also stay in place better than many earbuds and are more comfortable for me, although some may not like how they sit deeper in your ear. These are almost always better than any stock headphone that comes with portables. Those usually are shrill and have NO bass or mids or are terribley muddy.

Overall, I think these are a decent sounding set of headphones with good styling making it a nice value for the price. Those who really care about sound though, should look elsewhere.